Chapter 5
Aubrey is lying.
I can’t tell what bothers me more. The fact she is lying at all and that I absolutely hate liars? Or is it because of how badly I want to know why she’s not telling the truth? Whatever secrets Aubrey is keeping are not my business. Despite that fact, I cannot forget about the way I just knew she was withholding the truth. I’m addicted to wanting to know more, sort of like how you want what you can’t have.
Last night was fun. Having dinner with Caleb and Lauren was enjoyable. I look forward to getting to know the blonde even more, but what I’ve seen of her so far, I’m impressed. She’s sweet, she’s open, and she’s witty in a way that complements Caleb. I get no red flags from the woman who’s captured my friend’s heart. Although, that doesn’t tell me much. My radar for detecting red flags isn’t all that reliable. After all, I was with Johanna for years. I was none the wiser until the very end that she was cheating and lying to me. She is a huge part of why I detest dishonesty, and I don’t know when I’ll ever get over all of it enough to not hold such bitterness in my heart.
It’s trickling into my judgment about Aubrey already.
During the ride to and from the restaurant and all through the meal, I noticed Aubrey’s antagonism. I don’t know what her problem is. If this is all because of the stupid way we drove to the bed-and-breakfast, she needs a lesson in life about holding grudges. I don’t know why she dislikes me, and I don’t know why she lied, but both of those together worsen my attitude toward her.
It would be easy to just let it go and forget about her, but I can’t. I hadn’t stalked her before Lauren’s wedding, but from what I browsed through, I noticed she was a devoted educator. How can she change so quickly?
Something nags me about her, and when I can’t find her or pass by her at breakfast or lunch, I only grow more curious.
I distract myself by walking with Caleb to check out the empty and as-yet undeveloped plot of land where he plans to build a future with Lauren.
We stand out here in the wide openness with trees and mountains in the distant sweeping vistas. Birds sing. The kids from one of the guest families laugh as they run through a sprinkler out back. I doubt they’re supposed to. I saw Lauren setting it up to water the beginning of a garden and the children are taking advantage.
To be young and free again.
I can’t help but draw in a deep breath of clean mountain air and feel a little bit better for it. Fresh air is no joke. In the city, it’s very hard to find, and now that I’m surrounded by it, I seriously wonder if it can be addicting.
The sun shines brightly, and not a single cloud mars the brilliant blue sky that stretches on forever. It’s a gorgeous, vibrant blue, like Aubrey’s eyes, only lacking the mysterious darkness I’ve noticed near her pupil.
I deadpan, staring at nature.
Holy crap. Here I am, waxing poetic about the woman’s eyes?
What’s wrong with me? I don’t remember ever noticing Johanna’s eyes like this. All that sticks in mind is the fact she didn’t keep her eyes on me.
“The main house will be that way,” Caleb says, jarring me from my reverie. He gestures, pointing vaguely to the west. I turn, lifting my face to consider where he points, and the slight breeze coming from that way feels good. I wonder if it’s always this warm here. It seems unlikely.
He notices when I tug at my shirt and chuckles. “Yeah, this is unusual weather this summer.”
I huff. “Look at you, talking like you’re born and raised here.”
His grin comes quickly. “Marian says it’s a hotter summer than usual.”
“Hmm-mmm.”
“So, main house over there. Guest house back that way.”
Main house. Guest house. House. Not an apartment. The only houses my friend ever had were party destinations in popular locations. His last one, in Atlanta, burned to the ground when a fling got clingy and acted out. He isn’t planning on rebuilding it. Instead, he’s building new here.
It hits me then.
He’s really, really committing to this. Settling down once and for all. For so long, Caleb was my brother from another mother. We met when we were eighteen and partied hard for a decade. Finding one woman and settling down to be a homebody was the last thing either of us planned on for a long while. I’d come close, eager to propose to Johanna, and that ended in a mess.
I never thought Caleb would settle down, and given how I almost had with the wrong woman, I hope my buddy is being careful. Being this dedicated to a woman sets a man up for a world of hurt if and when it crashes down. I don’t know Lauren enough to determine if she’s entirely a good woman. I can’t tell yet if she won’t hurt my good friend if things go south between them.
I was burned badly in the name of love. That doesn’t mean everyone else will be, too, but Caleb doesn’t deserve any heartbreak.
“Hey, are you really thinking all of this through?” I ask.
He sighs and hangs his head. I worry I might have pissed him off, challenging him. He doesn’t seem upset, only mildly frustrated. Maybe he’s been waiting for me to say that.
“I’m only asking because you just met her. It seems like it’s going fast.” He and Lauren haven’t hooked up that rapidly, but to start talking about building a home, that’s a huge step. When he was back in New York after Lauren chose her ex over him, I saw firsthand how rough he took that rejection. He already had his heart busted by this woman choosing someone else. While I’m glad they are enjoying a second chance at love, I wonder if something else might happen that he’ll need a third chance with her. Or a fourth. Love is unpredictable.
“I’m not trying to be negative,” I add. “But have you sat down and thought all of this through? Starting a permanent future with her like this here. Leaving New York.”
“I’ll still go back often.” He glances at me, with a serious face. “I’ll have to for the company.”
I nod, but I’m not convinced. Caleb planning to leave the city is the hardest thing for me to grasp. I travel often for work; I fly frequently to check out properties that I want to include in my empire. Home has always been the Big Apple. Although there is a certain thrill with the idea of a new start elsewhere, I have to wonder if Caleb is thinking with his head and heart at the same time, not one over the other.
“I know you’re not being negative,” he says after a moment of quiet. “After all that you’ve gone through with Johanna, I’m not surprised. It makes sense—from your perspective—that I should be cautious about committing to just one person.”
Now I sound like a whiny and crappy friend holding him back. “I’m not trying to sow doubt or dissuade you from anything.”
He lets out a bark of laughter. “I know. And honestly, you couldn’t. Lauren is the one, Dalt. She’s the one, and I know that without a doubt.”
I raise my brows, stunned.
“I’m going to propose to her when the time is right. That’s how serious I am about her.”
I smile slowly. I’ve never seen this lucky bastard so happy, so convinced, too.
“I also know you’re going through the motions, man. I get it. I’d be shocked if you weren’t wary about this and concerned for me. But I also know you’ll eventually get to a point where you might be ready to let love in again.”
Yeah, right. I chuckle dryly.
“Has she been bothering you lately?” he asks carefully.
I shrug, not wanting to go into the details of how Johanna still reaches out to me. Her contacting me at all is annoying, and the rate at which she won’t give up is becoming bothersome. “Whatever she might want to say to me will be a lie.”
“I hate liars,” he growls.
I nod and fold my arms over my chest. “Yeah.” About that. He’s not even aware that Aubrey was fibbing about giving up on teaching. Her words come back to me. People change their minds. Yeah, they do. “Does Aubrey seem wishy-washy to you?”
He widens his eyes in surprise. “You go from my question about Johanna to wondering about Aubrey?”
I’m more interested in finding out info about the raven-haired beauty who can’t stand me than I am about rehashing details about the ex I want to forget. “Does she?”
He furrows his brow. “Wishy-washy? No, I don’t get that impression from her. I only know a little bit about her from how she helped Lauren get out of that wedding. And whatever Lauren’s told me.”
That’s how I feel. I recall Aubrey aiding us with the “great escape” from that ceremony at the vineyard. I have the little information I saw online to rely on, but that isn’t enough to know someone. It irks me that I want to know about her, but I prefer indulging this curiosity about her over talking about my life and drama in New York.
“Listen.” Caleb clears his throat and glances at me. “Aubrey isn’t like us, all right?”
I face him, waiting for him to tell me this intel to my face.
“I don’t know everything about her, but Lauren’s given me a bit of background.”
“How is she not like us?”
He hesitates for a second. “She doesn’t have money. She didn’t come from money either.”
Caleb grew up wealthy from his many generations of success at Thatcher Metal Works. I also was raised with my family’s wealth, but I’ve far surpassed it on my own. Still, I hate to think that money is a great divide. It is, no matter what, it is, but I don’t like it.
“Her parents passed away in a car accident when she was eighteen. From what I know, they were close. She was an only child.”
So, not like the proper parents I have and distance myself from—a mother and father who are still alive but not interested in my life. Unlike Caleb, too, whose father recently passed away and whose mother ran off from the responsibility of being a parent after he was born.
“Lauren and Aubrey are like sisters,” he tells me. “They met in college. Lauren says that’s the only time in her past that she ever felt free, that she ever felt like she was discovering herself and being her. Aubrey got into the same college with scholarships, and she fought hard to maintain good grades to keep them and obtain her degrees. They never would’ve crossed paths if not for meeting in college. They come from different circles and backgrounds, but they’re like sisters. They’ll stay like that, too. She’s family to Lauren, more than her real family was.”
I snort. “And definitely more than the family she almost married into.”
Caleb laughs once without mirth. “Yeah. For sure.”
I sigh, gazing at the majestic views far in the distance. It’s like I’ve been transplanted into a whole new universe, one where I now feel like shit for goading this woman and replying with snark in kind.
“So…” He shrugs. “I don’t know. Go easy on her, all right?”
I frown. “I’m not going to let her give me attitude.”
He rolls his eyes. “No. I’m not saying you should. Honestly, I was surprised when she showed up. She was in a bad mood yesterday. It sounds like you were acting like an asshole on the road, and that’s on you.” Now he slants his brows in disapproval. “Which you need to apologize for, but maybe something’s going on with Aubrey. Lauren commented before we headed to dinner that she seemed extra upset.”
I wonder what it could be. If it’s not just a damn aversion to me, then what?
I rub the back of my neck, feeling a bit uncomfortable about how much I want to know.
This is not the time to start anything with anyone…
I bet I could tell myself to think again a hundred times and I still won’t shake how intrigued I am.
Clearly, Aubrey hasn’t had an easy life like Caleb or I have, and I can’t assume to know her. She’s made it obvious she hates me right off the bat, too. Regardless, I’m convinced her sassy attitude and the way she tries to avoid me isn’t an accurate portrayal of the woman she really is deep down.
She’s hiding herself. I can tell she is, but I really want to get to know that woman.
And now I’ve got to do something about the way I’ve treated her. To make it right. If not right, better.